What Can Be Made from One Barrel of Oil?

Oil gets a bad rap these days, but the stuff is actually quite incredible.

Many people think of crude oil as a thick, black liquid that is used to source our unquenchable thirst for gasoline. However, the reality is that each barrel of oil is refined to be used in a variety of applications that includes fuel, cosmetics, plastics, rubber, and candle wax.

Today’s infographic comes fromJWN Energy, an oil and gas news site. Using Chevron as a source, it shows 17 different things that can be made from each barrel of oil.

Here is everything that can be made from just one barrel of oil:

Enough gasoline to drive a medium-sized car over 450km (280 miles).

Enough distillate fuel to drive a large truck for almost 65km (40 miles). If jet fuel fraction is included, that same truck can run nearly 80km (50 miles).

Nearly 70 kWh of electricity at a power plant generated by residual fuel.

Asphalt to make about 3.8 L (one gallon) of tar for patching roofs or streets.

Lubricants to make about a 0.95 L (one quart) of motor oil.

Wax for 170 birthday candles or 27 wax crayons.

But that’s not all. After producing all of the above products, there’s also enough petrochemicals leftover to be used as a base forone of the following:

39 polyester shirts

750 pocket combs

540 toothbrushes

65 plastic dustpans

23 hula hoops

65 plastic drinking cups

195 one-cup measuring cups

11 plastic telephone housings

135 four-inch rubber balls

Oil is not a one-trick pony, and the gooey black liquid actually has thousands of applications. The above serves as one example of how a barrel could be used, but here’s a list ofmany other oil applications. It includes everything from guitar strings to antihistamines.

Whatever your opinion is of fossil fuels, it’s still pretty astonishing what can be produced out of each barrel of oil.